A user's experience using search features in a computing environment can be rather limited in scope, functionality, and presentation. For example, a user may perform independent searches in different contexts, such as a search for a local file, object, or application through a file system search feature, another independent search for an email in a separate email application search feature, yet another independent search for Web content using a separate Web search service, etc. Results from such different contexts of searches are generally provided independently, with independent rankings and groupings, in presentations by separate applications and/or in separate windows and formats, etc. Accordingly, such searches fail to provide integration among the different contexts of search results.
In addition, a user's options for interacting with search results or other content elements are also limited. For example, a user can select a file system search result to find a file associated with an application and then select the file to invoke the application. Alternatively, a user can select a Web search result (e.g., in the form of a link) in a browser to navigate to the Web page associated with the search result. Existing search result solutions fail to offer a user experience that presents a rich set of appropriate actions for operating on a search result (e.g., playing a video specified by a search result, opening an application corresponding to a local or Web-resident database associated with the application, etc.).